Joliet mayor plans to appoint Gannon to Rialto board

JOLIET – Mary Beth Gannon, a leader of the group that blocked a new Rialto Square Theatre marquee, is slated to be appointed to the board that oversees the theater.

Gannon's appointment is on Tuesday's Joliet City Council meeting agenda.

"I'll believe it when it happens," Gannon said Friday.

Mayor Bob O'Dekirk plans to name Gannon to the Will County Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority. But the appointment must be approved by the City Council.

Gannon said she is "hopeful" she will be approved. "I'm going to have my whole family there," she said.

O'Dekirk, elected mayor on April 7, had said previously he planned to appoint Gannon to the WCMEAA if he won the election. The City Council rejected a previous appointment by former Mayor Tom Giarrante, with members saying a decision should wait until after the election.

O'Dekirk noted Gannon's resume and interest in the job as factors in his decision.

But he also said her leadership in the Rialto Belongs to the People group, which successfully opposed the marquee design, was a factor. O'Dekirk said he believed Gannon could help deal with "mistrust in the community" regarding Rialto management.

Gannon's appointment, he said, "was a way, I thought, to bring all parties together."

O'Dekirk said he spoke with three members of the WCMEAA board.

"They all said they don't have a problem with her," he said. "They all said they would give her significant jobs to do over there."

Marquee controversy

The WCMEAA previously appointed Gannon to an advisory committee that reviewed the issues surrounding the marquee and made recommendations. The board is scheduled to discuss the committee's report on Wednesday.

The advisory committee recommended a marquee similar in design to what is at the theater now, but updating it with LED lights and digital sign boards.

The WCMEAA had planned to replace the marquee with a larger and more colorful sign that opponents said did not fit the historic character of the theater, which opened in 1926.

When the WCMEAA decided to put the marquee project on hold to reconsider the design, donor Ed Czerkies pulled back a $350,000 donation that would have paid for it. Nearly $200,000 has already been spent on the marquee, which is in mid-production.

The WCMEAA has not yet decided what to do with the unfinished marquee.

Gannon is chairwoman of the Rialto Belongs to the People group, which started with a Facebook page in reaction to the proposed marquee's design. The group mobilized and went to WCMEAA meetings to urge a halt to the plans.

"I hope to see a few more members of the Rialto Belongs to the People on the Rialto board," she said.

Gannon said she has a strong attachment to the Rialto that goes back to her grandfather, who was a musician in the theater's orchestra pit. She said her knowledge of local history and past experience in television should be helpful for the Rialto.

New council liaison

In another Rialto development, O'Dekirk will appoint new Coucilman Pat Mudron as the City Council's liaison to the theater. O'Dekirk was the previous Rialto liaison.

O'Dekirk also will name appointments to the nine City Council committees and four other liaisons from the council.